William James Beal

William James Beal (March 11, 1833 – May 12, 1924) was an American botanist. He was a pioneer in the development of hybrid corn and the founder of the W. J. Beal Botanical Garden.

Biography Beal was born in Adrian, Michigan, to William and Rachel (Comstock) Beal, His parents were pioneering Quaker settlers/farmers from New York state. Beal grew up in forested land surrounded by native plant and animal life. He married Hannah Proud in 1863. He retired to Amherst, Massachusetts, and died there in 1924.

Research at the Michigan Agricultural College

After briefly serving as professor of botany at the University of Chicago in 1868–70, Beal went on to Michigan Agricultural College (MAC, now Michigan State University), where he was professor of botany (1871–1910) and curator of the botanical museum (1882–1905). During his tenure he also served as professor of horticulture (1872–1882) and professor of forestry (1882–1902). While at MAC, he arranged for Liberty Hyde Bailey to work as an assistant to Asa Gray at Harvard University for two years during 1883–1884. He also served as co-director of the state Forestry Commission (1889–1892). Using his techniques, Beal was able to produce crops that bloomed earlier, were hardier, had more vigor, and had “better qualities” than traditionally grown varieties. He began conducting these experiments in 1878. He also conducted the first turfgrass experiments at the college in 1880. His successor at the Michigan Agricultural College, P.G. Holden, is quoted as praising Beal’s work by saying “From his original experiment has come to the Twentieth Century Miracle - hybrid corn.”

Beal's work was inspired by many influential scientists of the late 19th century. He arrived at Harvard to complete an undergraduate degree 3 years after Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species. Emerson, Lowell, and Holmes were writing and lecturing, and Thoreau was still alive. Beal heard them all as a young student from Michigan. Groundbreaking research by Darwin and the writings of Emerson, Lowell, Holmes, and Thoreau were probably inspirations to a young Beal as he transitioned from studying at Harvard to conducting his research at the Michigan Agricultural College. Darwin’s research on inheritance especially seems to have influenced Beal’s development of hybrid corn. The end of the study is due in 2100.

The latest test occurred in 2021, after a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published works He was the author of The New Botany (1882), Grasses of North America (1887), Seed Dispersal (1898) and History of Michigan Agricultural College (1915).

Quotation

"Merely learning the name of a plant or parts of a plant can no longer be palmed off as valuable training."

As published in The Examiner of Hartford, Conn, on Dec 3, 1881: "If you have money to fool away, seed down your young orchard to clover and timothy, or sow a crop of wheat or oats. If you want the trees to thrive, cultivate well till they are seven or ten years old. Spread ashes, manue, or salt broadcast. Stop cultivating in August, weeds or no weeds; this allows the trees to ripen for winter. The question whether to cultivate old orchards or not must be answered by observing the trees. If the clover of the leaves is good and they grow well and bear fine fruit they are doing well enough even if in grass. But if the leaves are pale, the annual growth less than a foot on a twelve trees, and the fruit small and poor, something is the matter, and they are suffering for want of cultivation, or manure, or both. To judge of the condition of an apple is like judging of the condition of sheep in a pasture. Look at the sheep, and if they are plump and fat, they are all right."

Death Beal was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Lansing.